Battle over military sexual assault

It’s a battle between tradition and change, and it could decide how far Congress is willing to go to make the Pentagon confront a growing epidemic of sexual assaults in the ranks.

Top Democrats and a few Republicans want to take the cases out of the traditional chain of command — where an accuser might be reporting the crime to the very person she’s accused.

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Military hawks say no way. Commanders need to maintain authority over their troops.

The dispute has exposed the latest fault line in the military’s handling of a reported 26,000 sexual assault cases last year, and one that could decide just how far Congress is willing to go to force changes on the Pentagon.

The Senate is holding hearings on sexual assault Tuesday, where the clash was on full display.

On one side of the fight are those seeking the change, like Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Mark Begich, who argue sexual assault cases need a separate lane in the military — even if that threatens the top-down culture of the Pentagon.

On the other side are institutionalists, including hawks like Sen. Jim Inhofe and Rep. Buck McKeon, who argue the chain of command is fundamental to leading the greatest military fighting machine on earth — and shouldn’t be tampered with lightly.

While senators like Gillibrand are grabbing headlines for keeping the cause front-and-center in Washington, they will still need to win over colleagues reluctant to impose such a fundamental shift at the Pentagon.

“The problem is the military is a little different than other institutions and if you take accountability and responsibility out of the hands of the commanding officer, we shouldn’t do that lightly,” Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, told POLITICO.

Inhofe, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, took to the floor Monday evening to rail against the idea. He reiterated his position at the Tuesday hearing.

“To take the commander out of the process will invite failure. These commanders have to make decisions to send our brave troops into battle. How ludicrous is it that we would say to our commanders, you’ve got to make a decision to send one of our kids into battle where they may end up losing their lives,” Inhofe said Monday. “But however, you can’t participate in the justice system of the troops. It doesn’t make any sense at all.”

On Tuesday, senators will review seven bills aimed at combating sexual violence in the military. Not all of them would take cases out of the chain of command.

“We’re building support,” Gillibrand told POLITICO on Monday. “It’s just a question of having more time to talk to more colleagues.”

Top military leaders will also testify. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has previously been reluctant to support changes to the chain of command.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the chairwoman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, said legislation like what Gillibrand is pushing will be needed.

“I think it’s very serious. You have nearly 30,000 of these in a year indicates there’s a real problem,” the California Democrat told POLITICO. “My view is that these either should be court martial-able events or there should be special prosecutors. It should be removed from the commanding officer.”

Other leading female voices in the Senate say the Pentagon needs a cattle prod.